


Meet the Parents

by crepuscular_writer



Category: Supernatural
Genre: Abusive John Winchester, Alternate Universe - Grocery Store, Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Angst, Conflict, Destiel - Freeform, Domestic, Domesticity, Drunk John Winchester, F/M, It's kind of awkward, M/M, Meeting your husbands parent in a grocery store, Mentions of past spousal abuse, Original Female Character(s) - Freeform, Parent Castiel, Parent Dean Winchester, Past Child Abuse, Verbal Abuse, YEARS after he ran away from home, with Sammy of course
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-04-10
Updated: 2015-04-10
Packaged: 2018-03-19 13:58:04
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,248
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3612549
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/crepuscular_writer/pseuds/crepuscular_writer
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Dean is perusing the cereal aisle for his favorite breakfast box, and he runs into Mary and John Winchester.</p><p>But the thing is, Dean hasn't seen them since he took Sammy and the Impala and left town. So to say he's on edge is a little bit of an understatement.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Meet the Parents

**Author's Note:**

> This isn't gonna be a short one-shot. It's kinda lengthy, but no chapters. Just the one. So hang on tight.  
> Kudos/comments/reading is totally appreciated :)

Never before has a nice lady at a grocery store ever scared the warm breath out of his lungs.

"Dean?"

He froze, his whole body tensing. That voice wasn't supposed to be here, not now. This was his world, his own life, and they weren't supposed to be in it. His head turned slowly to his right, catching on the two people standing at the end of the aisle, in front of the bread. God, he hadn't seen those faces in so long.

"Dean," Mary repeated. She peeked over her shoulder to John, needing to confirm she wasn't the only one seeing her first born son.

But Dean wasn't looking at her anymore; he was looking at his dad.

John looked healthy. There were no huge suitcases under his eyes, his skin looked fuller, and his hair was clean, if not a little long too. Dean had never seen him look so... put together.

He wasn't supposed to be here either. This was his grocery store. All he wanted was his damn Cocoa Puffs and to leave. But he couldn't, the two people who almost guaranteed his destruction cementing him to the floor.

"Mom, Dad." Their names were almost whispers on his tongue, cold and unfeeling. "What are you doing here?" he choked out.

His mother, beautiful as ever, looked as scared and nervous as Dean felt, more than he had felt in years.

"We're visiting friends in town and we wanted to get some stuff for dinner." She sounded detached, almost reading from a script for a story she couldn't care less about. The sound made Dean's chest ache a little. He turned his whole body to face them, and Mary took a step. He flinched, and she recoiled. She took another step, and another, and another until she was pulling him into a crushing hug. Dean, the perpetual Mamma's boy, gave in to the warmth and wrapped his strong arms around her small frame.

Her hair smelled of strawberry shampoo, just like when he was little. Again, his chest ached a little. "Mom," he whimpered. He burrowed deeper into her smell, nuzzling his face into her neck, and he visibly relaxed, rooting as if an infant. He tried not to show the twinge of hurt he felt when she pulled away but a person can only hide so much pain resurrecting all at once. So Dean put on his brave face, trying to detach his feelings from the situation. She gave him a warm smile, and waved for John to join them. He looked startled, a deer caught in the headlights, unsure whether he should move or risk getting hit. Tentatively, he shuffled towards Dean and Mary.

"Hello Dean. It's nice to see you after so long. How have you been?" John's voice was higher than Dean expected, no longer being constantly marred by damaging alcohol and cigarette smoke. His smile, Dean kinda smirked a little inside, sorta resembled the Grinch's, spreading all the way to his ears and kinda curvy. But it was genuine enough to believe he actually cared to know about the answer, but years of only seeing the disgusting sneer as John drank himself into a stupor, draining away all the money they had every month, it was hard to let go.

"I'm great, how about you? You look better than the last time I saw you," Dean said coldly.

"Dean," Mary warned.

"No Mom, I'm sorry, but really?"

"He's gotten better, Dean. He's not the man you remember."

"Oh yeah?" Dean was incredulous. How could his mother, of all the people in the world to know John's deepest and darkest secrets, every bad thing he had ever done, and still defend him?

"'Cause all I'm looking at is a couple years, a shower, and some sleep."

"Your father has been working very hard these past few years to improve himself and get better, while you were off God knows where. We looked for months for you and Sam-"

"Yeah, and look how hard you tried." Mary just glowered.

"We looked for you two, but you didn't want to be found. You left us," she said tiredly. Her voice mirrored all the worry and helplessness she felt she felt those first few months when her boys disappeared. "I'm honestly curious Dean," she paused. "Where were you?” Dean took a breath, ready to lie through his teeth to get them to leave quicker, but before he could even open his mouth-

"Some woman cornered me in the baby aisle and interrogated me why I had my daughter dressed in green and yellow. As if green and yellow are not feminine enough for a nine-month old who doesn't even recognize herself as a separate person," Cas ranted, pushing the shopping cart toward Dean, flipping through his phone with anger in his eyes. "I mean, who is this stranger to question my decisions on parenting? But then I got a really good look at her, and it was the crazy nurse from the alternative center. You know, the one who wouldn't let us in the room with Anna? Anyway, I told her how I raise my kid is none of her business, and then she had the audacity to tell me I was corrupting her into a lifestyle leading straight to hell, So of course, I was dragged into a verbal fight in the baby aisle of all places and-," Cas took a deep breath, set Robin into her car seat, and searched through the diaper bag hanging off of his shoulder. "Did you at least get the cereal?" Cas asked, finally looking up at Dean, and his eyes slanted over to Mary and John, and he stilled. "Oh, hello," Cas smiled nervously. "Dean?" Cas whispered confused, almost a little embarrassed for his rant.

Dean just stared at Cas, unable to form a coherent thought. His eyes darted from Cas to Mary and John, and he took a shallow breath.

"Cas," Dean hesitated, "this is Mary and John, my parents."

Now it was Cas' turn to be speechless, eyes big as saucers. He closed his open jaw, stood up a little straighter, and tried not to shake as he put his phone in his pocket.

"Oh" was all he said.

Dean worriedly stared at his folks, looking for any kind of reaction, negative or positive, or even neutral if he's lucky. He wonders if they're gonna tear him a new one, right in front of his husband and child, or if they were just going to leave. He didn't know which one would hurt more.

They did neither, in the end, as he should have known. They never did as Dean thought they were going to do.

"Mom, Dad, this is Castiel," Dean gulped. "He's my husband. And this little girl is our daughter, Robin Mae." Dean didn't say anything else, the words not coming to him. He waved at his family, the one he made for himself, and just smiled. "You asked where I was the past few years. Well, here it is." His pride and joy seeped into his voice as he looked at four out of the five or six people he had ever loved. All the years his parents thought he was dead, they were wrong. Dean was living. He was working a job he loved, he was loving someone who loved him back, making a home for himself and Cas and Robin. He couldn't be more proud of himself, in that moment, looking at everything he worked for, finally seeing all he actually had.

Mary just sighed, taking a deep breath, before thrusting her hand out. "It is nice to meet you Castiel, I'm Mary." Cas looked at Dean for silent permission, but when Dean shrugged his shoulders, he caved and shook her hand firmly. Robin made a gurgling sound that made Mary jump. She was thrusting her fist into her little mouth, spit bubbling out the corners of her mouth, and cooing delightedly. She waved her other hand in the air, reaching toward Cas with a smile, her blue eyes sparkling in the artificial light of the store. Cas dug back into the diaper bag, and fishing out a cloth to wipe her spit-covered fist and dab at the corners of her mouth. After, he let her squeeze his index finger in her hand, giggling as she tugged it around.

"She's a squirmer," Mary commented, amused.

"Yeah, she is. She almost got out of her high chair yesterday. Gave me a heart attack," Cas laughed, Mary smiled.

"How old is she?" John asked, not taking his eyes off of Cas and Robin.

"She turned nine months old last week," Cas informed, shifting, feeling a little uncomfortable under John's scrutiny.

"Did you adopt?"

"No, my sister offered herself as a surrogate mother."

"Oh, I can see. She has your eyes and my son's hair. Can hardly tell." She really was a miracle. To a stranger, she looked like the both of their's. Because she was. "Yeah, she turned out perfect," Cas whispered lovingly, their chubby little bundle fast asleep in her carseat.

"Dean," Mary said, "is there somewhere we could talk in private? We just found you, and I think you still owe us a better explanation."

Dean fidgeted before caving. "Yeah, yeah," he nodded. "We can go back to my and Cas' place. Just let us check out and you can follow."

"Okay, sounds good," said John. Dean and Cas quickly went through the checkout, sparing the bored cashier some strained smiles and mumbled thank yous before high-tailing it to the Impala. Dean loaded the trunk while Cas buckled Robin into her car seat. After they both got in, Cas turned to Dean.

"What the hell, Dean? What the actual hell?"

"I don't know, Cas. They cornered me," Dean sighed.

"Dean, your parents." Cas rubbed his temples, leaning against the passenger window. Dean didn't know how to respond, his one head still spinning. He leaned his forehead on the wheel, and he took a deep breath before starting her up and pulling out of the parking lot. The rest of the drive was quiet, filled only with Robin's coos and little eye flits to the rearview mirror.

"He beat her, Dean. He hurt you and Sam and she divorced his ass. What happened?" Cas broke the silence. Dean just shook his head, staring at the road.

"I have no clue. Your guess is as good as mine."

"He looks good. Better than your first description of him when we were dating," Cas commented.

"I thought the bastard was going to die alone and of alcohol poisoning. Leave it to John to--," Dean huffed. He honestly didn't know how to finish that sentence. "Is it too much to hope that after this they'll just go home and never bug us again?"

Cas didn't say anything after that.

* * *

 

Soon they were pulling into the driveway of their two story house, John and Mary in tow. They were getting out of their car when Cas unlocked the front door, and the five entered the warm home.

Dean felt like he was getting his license again. He felt like everything he did was under close examination, and he silently cursed himself for keeping his home in such a mess. Robin's toys were all over the living room floor, and the sink was almost overflowing with dirty dishes. Cas set Robin down onto her play mat and gathered some of the toys for her, and joining Dean with his parents in the entrance hall. John was squinting at the picture frames, and occasionally Mary would smile at one of Dean, Cas, and Robin on her first Halloween or her first day home from the hospital. Again, it warmed Dean's heart to see all he worked for displayed in his home in frames.

"You have a very beautiful family," Mary said wistfully, directing her gaze to Cas. He blushes, "Thank you."

She turns her attention back to the pictures, and suddenly gasps. "Is that Sam?"

John moves toward her, following her gaze. There, next to a picture of Robin in the bath, was a familiar picture of Sam and Jess on their first wedding anniversary. That night was full of chick-flick moments and alcohol, but it was a time before Cas and Dean got married and had Robin. They were just dating, going through the awkward first months of being an exclusive couple. Dean smiled at the memory.

"Yes, Mom. That's Sam."

"I can't believe it, he's so grown up. Tall and strong. He looks just like my father." She sighed.

"And who is this?" she pointed to the blond standing next to him.

"That's Jessica, his wife. This was taken on their first wedding anniversary," Dean beams proudly. "They've been married for four years with two kids."

"How is he? Is he in town? We'd like to see him after so long," Mary pleaded with her eyes.

"Actually," Cas winced, "Sam is out of town. His law firm is holding a conference in Miami, and he won't be back for a couple weeks, and Jess is visiting her parents with the kids in Monticello."

Mary's face fell, but she picked her smile back up and leaned into John.

Dean smiled, fake and big, and asked, "So what happened with you two? Before I left, you guys were already divorced."

Cas elbowed his stomach, hissing at his coldness, but Mary just waved it off.

"Well, we were divorced for a few years. After several DUI's, John entered into a rehabilitation facility that mainly focused on alcoholics and drug addicts. He was in and out for a couple years, but he finally got sober and stayed that way. He came to me seeking forgiveness, and we kinda just went from there."

"I can speak for myself, Mary," John complained.

"So, are you two remarried, or what?" Dean asked.

"Yes. We got remarried two years ago. We're very happy." Mary took John's hand and squeezed it. He smiled down at her with a look in his eyes Dean hadn't seen since he was four years old.

"Yeah, I bet you are," Dean snapped.

"Okay, how about we show you guys the rest of the house? I can start get stuff out for lunch if anyone's hungry," Cas interfered, pointing a look at Dean.

"You don't have to do that--"

"Sure, I'm hungry," John interrupted, his lips turned up in the corners.

"Why don't we go into the kitchen then? I will get stuff for sandwiches."

And then Mary and John were sitting at their kitchen table next to Dean while Cas flitted back and forth around the kitchen, back and forth from the pantry, and laid everything out on the counter.

"How long have you two lived here?" Mary asked. She took a glance around the rest of the room, even taking a second to appreciate the sight of Robin in her high chair.

"We bought the house a year before we got married. It was a project, I tell you. Leaky ceilings, holes in the walls, mice in the attic. We almost didn't buy, but our friend Pam told us that we had to because it was meant for us. So we patched up the place. It took almost four months but we finally got it done with everything we wanted."

"Dean even got his dream kitchen," Cas teased, emphasising the Dean part of that idea. He just scoffed, none of the venom and all affection, and sipped at his water.

"And when did you two get married? I didn't know gay marriage was legal in Indiana," John nursed his water.

"It was passed a couple years ago Dad. And we're coming up on our three year anniversary, aren't we Cas?"

"Yes we are," Cas grinned madly. "Okay, I've got everything set up. Just let me go get the chips from the pantry," he said turning around and disappearing around the fridge.

"I guess we know who the woman in the relationship is," mumbled John. Dean's fists clenched and he almost snapped something back when Cas came back in with three bags of chips in his arms.

"The problem with your logic, John, is that the point of a gay couple is that there is no woman," Cas said sharply, his distaste for John's bigotry lacing his words. Dean just grinned.

* * *

 

They were all sitting around in the living room. John was watching a game and Mary was playing with Robin. She was a little cranky, so Dean went to put her down for a nap, when Mary asked to join. Dean just smiled and showed her the way to Robin's nursery.

Her room was a cheery spring green paired with a white dresser and rocking chair. The changing table was cherry wood, a gift handcrafted by Benny. The room was filled with soft light from the white elephant patterned curtains covering her window. Mary gasped when she walked through the door, and begged Dean to show her all the baby clothes they had for her. She spent some time quietly sifting through the onesies and booties and baby beanies while he went through Robin's nap time ritual. He dressed her in a soft cotton sleeper and walked around the room with her, talking about his day and how much he loved her. She liked to fall asleep to the sound of her dad's voice. When she was finally asleep, he gently set her into her crib. He fetched her elephant nightlight out of her dresser and plugged it into the wall before turning off the lights and stepping out to let her sleep, Mary right behind him.

"Dean."

He turned around. She was fidgeting, only looking at Dean. "I want you to know that I am very proud of you. You are a great father, and Cas is a wonderful person. Your home is beautiful. I can't tell you how much I missed you, and how happy I am that you are happy." She started tearing up. "I know that you blame your father for everything that happened, but I want you to think about forgiving him. He has worked so hard at making himself a better person, and I think he deserves another chance."

"I'll think about it," he whispered. "Now c'mon, I just realized I left Cas and Dad alone down there."

Mary cringed. "Probably not the best idea." Dean huffed.

The two were almost down the stairs when Dean started to hear snatches of a conversation.

"So who was your surrogate mother?" John asked.

"My sister offered. She volunteered one of her own eggs so Robin would be a genetic match to both Dean and I," Cas explained.

"So Dean's her father."

"We're both her fathers," Cas snapped.

Dean let out a breath and stomped toward the living room. John was still on the couch, remote tight in hand, and Cas was sitting where he had left him, his jaw set tight. Cas usually had a very strong control over showing his emotions, but now did not seem the case.

"Hey, you two. Everything okay?" His eyes flitted from his husband to his father.

"Your husband was just telling me about Robin's surrogate mother. So your sister is actually her mom?"

"Technically and genetically, yes. But she is ours, mine and Dean's," Cas rebuttled.

"Shouldn't she get some time with Robin then? I mean, she is her mother--"

"Dad. Stop. Just don't go there. I am her Dad and Cas is her Papa. She is mine and Cas' equally. We love Robin with all of our being," Dean urged, eyes moving to Cas. He walked over to where Cas was sitting and tugged him to his feet, holding onto his hand and wrapping his other arm around his waist. "Why are you doing this?"

"Doing what, Dean?" John spat.

"Shitting on my life!" Dean yelled. "I love where I am at right now." He pulled his away from Cas, counting with his fingers. "I have Sam, I got a job that pays well, I got a house over my head, I got a husband at my side who will do anything for me, I have a kid with him. I have everything I could ever want. I don't regret a single thing I ever did, starting with taking Sammy and the Impala and--"

"Ditching your family? Leaving behind your flesh and blood to wonder what happened to you or where you were? What you did was selfish, thoughtless, and cowardly. You couldn't handle it, so you ran. You ran from me, from your mother. What kind of sons do that to the people who gave them life?" John was on his feet now, towering over Dean by a couple feet, but he wasn't scared.

"I did what I had to do to keep living, Dad. You were a terrible excuse for a father. You beat us when you were drunk, and when Mom would try and help us you'd hit her. What kind of husband does that to the mother of his children?"

A distant cry sounded upstairs, and Dean let out a breath he didn't know he was holding, rubbing his temples. Cas left to help Robin.

"I want you out," Dean snapped. "I want you both out of my house, and I never want to see you again."

John headed for the front door, passing Dean with a hard bump to the shoulder, only pissing him off more. "I tried for Robin, I thought she could know her grandparents. But I can't have you around her. I'm gonna be a good dad, a better father than you ever were," Dean said sharply over his shoulder, his words cutting into John's skin, freezing him where he stood. "Don't bother showing up again. I'm not the only one here with a shotgun loaded in the coat closet."

He turned toward Mary, not flinching when the front door opened and slammed shut. "I'm sorry Mom," Dean apologized.

"It's okay, honey. You're doing what's best for your family. I'm sorry we bothered you." She slid her jacket on, and Dean's heart ached. He didn't want to lose her too. But John and Mary were a package deal. They always were.

"I'm gonna miss you," her voice broke. Dean stepped up and gathered his teary mother into his arms, taking in her warmth and smell for one last time.

"I'm gonna miss you too. I love you," he muffled into her soft blond hair. She whimpered, returning the sentiment, and finally pulled away. If Dean was a little misty eyed, Mary didn't comment. He scrambled for a piece of paper, just taking a post-it note and scribbling his phone number on it, and handing it to her. Taking one for herself and writing down her number, they swapped them. She smiled, stroked Dean's cheek, and left through the front door.

* * *

Cas tucked his head under Dean's chin, breathing in his scent. He sighed happily, and peered up at Dean.

"Are you okay, now? You're not beating yourself up about it?" Dean sighed, tightening his arms around Cas' naked torso. "Nah, I'm good." He kissed Cas' hair.

"Dean, today was not your fault. You didn't know they were gonna be in town, and you didn't know how they were going to act," Cas kissed his collarbone, peppering the skin with light pecks.

"I know," he grumbled, "I just," Dean huffed. He rubbed a hand over his face. "Oh god, I never want to be like him, ever. I don't want to hurt you and Robin. I don't want to spend all my time hopping bars instead of being with family."

"Dean, you are already ten times the father John ever was. You need to know that. Robin is lucky to have you."

"More like I'm the lucky one," Dean said affectionately. "Now go to sleep, you have work in the morning."

They shuffled under the comforter, snuggling up against each other, Dean on his back and Cas curled against him. He could hear Dean's every breath and heartbeat, the way he preferred. Dean was soon out like a light, but Cas wasn't having such luck. He was kept up with the day's events. He didn't expect any of it.

Cas never had the stereotypical meet-the-family dinner, where Mary would whip out the baby albums and coo at rosy cheeks and wisps of hair, where Dean would sneak them up to his childhood bedroom and they would kiss lazily on his bed. The amount of knowledge Cas was missing out on made his skin itch and heart ache. The man he was sharing a bed, a house, a life with, who was snoring like it was going out of style. He wanted to know all of Dean. He wanted to know what Dean looked like as a baby. He wanted to know what his favorite cartoon was and his favorite music group as a teen. The person Dean was before his father turned to the bottle.

Without waking Dean, Cas untangled himself up and off of him. Quietly padding down the stairs and to the living room, to not wake anyone up. On the cherry dining room table in neat writing, he snatched the post-it and tumbled outside into the cold night. All he could do was stare at the yellow page, but he took a deep breath, dialling the number.

"Mary? It's Castiel. Can we talk?"

**Author's Note:**

> Yo, go check out my [tumblr](https://www.tumblr.com/blog/crepuscular-writer) if anyone wants to keep up with my [30 Days of AU](http://archiveofourown.org/series/233016) or my long-fic [Coloured Glass](http://archiveofourown.org/works/2572403), feel free to check them out too.


End file.
